Manual:Infantry Manual:Organization:Unconventional Warfare

Unconventional Warfare
The School of Unconventional Warfare is one the worst kept secrets in the Infantry Branch. Everyone knows it exists, but everyone talks like it doesn't. Its also one of the most sought after advanced training programs. The reasons is that not everyone can do it. The program picks its recruits as opposed to the Infantry Branch assigning marines to the training program.

History
The Unconventional Warfare School draws its inspiration from another marine fighting force. A little over 400 years ago, an organization known as the United States Marine Corps created a program called the Marine Raiders.

During the 2nd World War, the Raiders were created by order of President Franklin Roosevelt. Roosevelt wanted the marine infantry to have a special operations force similar to the British Commandos. The result was an amphibious light infantry unit that could land and work behind enemy lines to harass the enemy or complete specific missions.

The original Raiders were made up of two battalions. One battalion was commanded by Colonel William Do-novan and the other was led by Major Evans Carlson. Colonel Donovan used traditional marine doctrine to train his men while Major Carlson took a less traditional approach.

Major Carlson was an intelligence officer assigned to work with Chinese irregulars during Japan’s occupation of China. The Chinese fought a guerrilla warfare against the occupying Japanese forces. This informal fighting style made an impression on the major.

Once he was given command of the 2nd Marine Raiders, Major Carlson molded them with the philosophies he learned from the Chinese. He put less emphasis on rank as a means of team building. He referred to the soldiers under his command as leaders & fighters. Everyone knew their job and how to execute it. He also brought to the marines the Chinese phrase “Gung Ho” which loosely translates to “Work Together”.

Disbandment
At the conclusion of World War 2, the Marine Raiders were disbanded. The post war marines no longer had a need for commando units. Advances in technology & fire support also ended the need for specialized light assault units. In the end, missions that could be assigned to the Raiders could also be handled by normal light infantry units.

Second Life in the 21st Century
In June 2003, the USMC stood up the Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command (MCFSOC). The first unit of the new MCFSOC was known as Detachment One. Detachment One would deploy to Iraq in 2004 ahead of main forces of Operation Desert Shield. Detachment One would lead to the creation of MARSOC in 2006 and the formation of the 1st Marine Special Operations Battalion. In 2014, the 1st Marine Special Operations Battalion would be renamed the 1st Marine Raider Battalion.

Revival within the SFMC
During the 2nd Klingon - Federation war and continued hostilities with The Dominion, the SFMC realized con-ventional warfare operations were not cutting it. The Dominion had a vastly different philosophy of war and they were all to eager to share it with the Federation.

To combat this style of warfare, the SFMC would go back to the drawing board to create a new type of fighting force. The SFMC sent word to all the member world of the Federation seeking guidance on how to organize this new unit. Several member worlds submitted presentations, but none were what they SFMC was looking for. This plan would sit on the back burner until a staff officer in Tracom realized the idea was that they need to look to the past, not the present.

As the head of the Infantry Branch, Lieutenant General Michael Timko was privy to these discussions. Lieutenant General Timko remembered that he did a historical research project on the original Marine Raiders as part of his officer training.

After retrieving a copy of his report, Lieutenant General Timko contacted his superior General Michael Malotte about the using the raider concept to train a new type of Infantryman. With the support of General Malotte, a meeting was scheduled with Commandant of the Corps Rey Cordero to pitch the idea. Commandant Cordero quickly realized this is how the marines would counter The Dominion. Following the meeting, Commandant Cordero tasked FORCECOM in consultation with Lieutenant General Timko & General Malotte to start drafting a training program for the first batch of recruits to attend training.

Organization
Branch Basics Motto As a branch school, Unconvetional Warfare does not have a separate motto. The Combadge Each branch of the Starfleet Marine Corps has a unique combadge for their members to wear on their uniforms. Even though Unconventional Warfare is part of the Infantry Branch, the SFMC makes a special dispensation for them. Since training in this pro-gram is not only hard to complete, but also exclusive, the SFMC provides them with a unique unique combadge. This special combadge would be akin to the Navy Seals Tri-dent that was worn by members of the Old Earth US Navy.

This unique combadge tells other marines that the marine before them was selected and graduated from Unconventional Warfare School.

Unconventional Warfare (UW) Units
 * 1) UW Units are organized as battalions and are led by a Lieutenant Colonel (O-5). Currently there are four UW Battalions in the SFMC. Each UW Battalion has headquarters company, but after that, its structure is based on the marines within that unit. As an example, the organizational elements of the 1st Raider Battalion are:
 * 2) UW Battalion - Contains all necessary marines to process orders and formulate plans based on those orders. The Headquarters company is overseen by the Battalion OIC and his or her adjutant is a Cap-tain (O-3). The senior most NCO of the unit is a Master Sergeant (E-8).
 * 3) A UW Battalion would contain more than one type of Field of Service. As mentioned earlier, the TO&E of the UW Battalion utilizes three Infantry Fields of Service: specially trained light infantryman, Mechanized Infantry & Aero Mobile for transport.
 * 4) Headquarters Company - Contains all necessary marines to process orders and formulate plans based on those orders. The Headquarters company is overseen by the Battalion OIC and his or her adjutant is a Captain (O-3). The senior most NCO of the unit is a Master Sergeant (E-8).
 * 5) Reconnaissance Company - The Recon Company gathers the lay of the land and disposition of ene-my forces. Within the company is a Recon Platoon and a Sniper Platoon. Each platoon is made up 3 squads that can be tasked as a group or as individual units with own unique orders during a mission. The Recon company is led by a First Lieutenant (O-2). The senior NCO is a Staff Sergeant (E-6)
 * 6) Light Infantry Assault Company - The main fighting force of the battalion. The Light Infantry Assault Company is composed of 3 squads which can be further broken down into 2 fire teams each. The overall company is led by a First Lieutenant (O-2). The senior NCO leads the first squad and holds the rank of Staff Sergeant (E-6) while the remaining two squads are overseen by NCO’s holding the rank of Sergeant (E-5).
 * 7) Support Company - The support company handles all the logistical needs of the battalion. Due to its unique needs, it is not subdivided into squads. The composition of the support company can include: weapon smiths, armorers, cooks, mechanics, etc. The head of the support company is usually a 2nd Lieutenant (O-1).
 * 8) Other examples of companies that can be part of a UW battalions are:
 * * Powered Infantry Company
 * * Combat Engineer Company
 * * Fire Support Company

Unconventional Warfare Operator Selection
UW training is the only SFMC infantry training that you cannot apply for. To get the opportunity to join a UW battalion, you must be selected. The UW look for candidates in all various branches to join current and future UW battalions that the SFMC plans to stand up. The selection process is as follows:


 * 1) Selection - The selection process begins by identifying a suitable marine. An ideal candidate meets some of the following characteristics; however, these are not the only qualities:
 * Is a non-commissioned officer (E-5 or better) or warrant officer (Note: officer candidates are taken right after they complete officer training if they show exceptional ability. They enter UW training as a 2nd Lieutenant).
 * Speaks one or more other languages such as Klingon, Romulan, Vulcan, etc.
 * Has no serious discipline in their personnel file.
 * Has been in their present assignment a minimum of 3 years and has excelled at their MOS.
 * Has received exceptional marks on three of their last five physical fitness exams.
 * Has received excellent marks from their Commanding Officer on three of their last five personal evaluations.
 * 1) First Meeting - When the UW School identifies a marine that they would like to consider for training, two recruiters are dispatched.
 * They accidentally meet the candidate while they are on shore leave and have conversations with them. What the marine does not know is they are actually being inter-viewed & profiled.
 * The first one reviews the subject to assess their personality and character. If they pass this meeting, then the second recruiter meets the subject to assess the candidates psychological makeup.
 * If the candidate fails either test, they are removed from consideration. Should they impress both recruiters, then a report is written up on them and passed along to the Selection Committee.
 * 1) Selection - After candidates have been identified, the UW stands up a committee of five current UW Operators to be review them for acceptance to UW School. The committee has an odd number, so votes cannot deadlock.
 * The committee will review the field report and review a presentation of the candidate's prior missions, training, progress reports & commendations. The committee will then vote. It takes three committee members to approve a recruit to be selected for training.
 * If the marine is selected for training, they don’t know right away. About a week af-ter returning from shore leave, they will get a message on their PADD. Opening the message, shows an image of the UW Combadge. This informs the marine they have just been selected for UW School.
 * After receiving the message, the marine is afforded 24 hours to decide if they want to attend UW School. If they agree to attend training, their Unit OIC’s is contacted with fake orders or some other cover story to explain why they are being trans-ferred to another unit or being assigned to a planetary garrison.
 * During the night before the marine is to leave for their new assignment, they are beamed out of their barracks. For all intent & purposes, their former squad believes they have left for their new assign-ment.
 * 1) Training - UW Training last 12 weeks and is divided up between physical assessments, class-room instruction and training missions. If a marine fails any three assessments during the 12 week period, they are then washed out. If, at any time, the training becomes too much for the marine, then they can tap their combadge three times to signal they quit. Once you quit, you are beamed to a holding area for transport back to your former unit. Your fellow marines never know that you washed out of UW training.
 * 2) Final Assessment - The final assessment of UW Training is a simulated mission. UW Trainees that make it this far are beamed onto a Holodeck that resembles the barracks while they are asleep. They awake the following morning unaware that the final exam has begun.
 * The final exam has the marines enter a holodeck to complete a final simulated training mission. After completing what they think is the final exam. What the marines don’t know is the simulated mission has been designed so that they fail. Upon completion of the simulation, the training officer informs the their failure and advises they will be transported to Starbase 46 aboard the USS Broadsword be-fore returning to their prior assignments.
 * The marines muster in their assigned area of the ship (usually a cargo bay converted into a marine barracks. As marines travel to Star Base 46, the Broadsword comes under attack from a threat spe-cies (Dominion, Breen, Cardassians, etc.). Due to the simulated damage to the barracks, the training officer appears to be severely wounded. Before they die, they tell the marines to remember their training and repel the boarding parties.
 * After leaving the barracks, the marines will first encounter the XO. The XO advises them that the boarding parties have overrun shipboard security and Ship’s Captain has been taken hostage. The XO tells the marines its up to them to formulate a plan to rescue the captain and retake the Broadsword.
 * What the marines don’t know is that this is also a no win scenario. Any marine who appears to be vaporized by an enemy fire is actually beamed to a holding area. If they attempt to retake the bridge they are captured. Any orders given by the marine commanding the detachment end in failure usual-ly the death of the marine who was ordered to perform the task.
 * After all the operators are either killed or captured, the simulation ends and the real training officer advises them that even in failure they passed as this assessment was really a test of character, lead-ership ability and ability to perform the duties under the most extreme conditions.

Unconventional Warfare Missions
Operators who graduate from the UW School undertake a variety of dangerous missions. Some of which are:
 * 1) Special Reconnaissance - Operators will be sent behind enemy lines for extended periods of time to send back information about enemy troop movements and size of forces. The gathered information is used to prepare for upcoming assaults.
 * 2) Preparation of Environment - Operators will be sent ahead of main forces to secure & hold territory where the SFMC intends to set up Forward Operating Bases for planned assaults or invasions.
 * 3) Guerilla Warfare - Operators are sent in to harass enemy forces using guerilla warfare tactics to con-fuse the enemy, so they don’t know who is attacking them.
 * 4) Urban Combat - Sometimes the government in power is the enemy. Operators will be tasked with assisting a local resistance unit in overthrowing a local despot or other political figure that is endan-gering a municipality or city-state.
 * 5) Counter-Insurgency - Operators are sent in to cut off enemy supply lines and destroy or capture high value targets such as communication arrays or weapons depots.
 * 6) Counter-Terrorism - The SFMC will deploy Operators at the request of a foreign government to eliminate foreign groups operating within their territory that harassing their citizens or stealing re-sources.
 * 7) Foreign Internal Defense - The SFMC will deploy Operators to assist a Federation protectorate to eliminate splinter factions of the populace that are attempting to lead coup against the legitimate gov-ernment.
 * 8) Drone Operation - Deployment of drones to conduct discrete reconnaissance, target identification or assassination.